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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24235744">mask of fire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/badanada/pseuds/badanada'>badanada</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, BAMF!Marinette, F/M, Fluff, Injury, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Has No Chill, Marinette has no Miraculous, Mystery, Reverse Crush (Miraculous Ladybug), Reverse Crush AU, Slow Burn, adrien does, rating might change we'll see</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:27:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24235744</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/badanada/pseuds/badanada</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien finds himself at odds with Marinette, but can't help but be inexplicably drawn towards her despite their differences. When he discovers her dangerous secret, he's pulled into a bigger mess than he could have ever imagined. </p><p>In other words, an AU where Adrien struggles with being Paris's only superhero, his modeling career, and figuring out his feelings for a certain girl who's most certainly hiding something.</p><p>Reverse crush AU with BAMF!Marinette.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>108</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: Fair warning: Marinette's character/background has been changed the most in this AU. Please keep that in mind as you proceed, but her behavior will be justified as the story goes on (i'm a sucker for character development).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b> <em>Chapter 1:</em> </b>
</p><hr/><p>School wasn't exactly what Adrien had pictured in his mind.</p><p>When he first started coming out to school, other students would gather around him and follow him everyday as he made his way to class. They would shout over each other, asking him for an autograph. Adrien found it a bit overwhelming at first, but got used to it over time. It was an indication that his father's efforts for his modeling career were successful, and he knew he should be proud of that fact. In spite of that, there was always a gnawing feeling in the back of his head, a craving almost, for his classmates to actually get to know him.</p><p>It became somewhat of a routine for him now. After he signed an autograph for a classmate, his fellow peers would thank him and nervously eye the girl clinging on to his arm, before taking off.</p><p>Chloé.</p><p>Chloé declared that it would be her utmost priority for her childhood friend to be properly settled in at his first public school. This meant constantly waiting for him at the entrance everyday to walk together to class. She would grab his arm, bat her long eyelashes at him while cooing, "Adrien-kins!" as they walked together. She would grin proudly each time someone asked for his autograph, but glare if anyone tried to interact with him further. Chloé even made her friend Sabrina move seats so that Adrien could sit next to her in class, much to the quiet dismay of the said girl. Adrien tried to reject, but Chloé was so insistent on it that she ignored his words of protests.</p><p>It was a bit overbearing, to say the least, but Adrien was still a bit thankful to Chloé. He was nervous about attending school with people his age for the first time in his life, and having someone he at least knew was a bit of relief. They had been friends since childhood, and she was the only one his age that his father would allow him to hang out with when growing up. Sure she was abrasive, arrogant, stuck up, rude, and a bunch of other things… but deep down Adrien knew that she had a good heart.</p><p>Somewhere very <em> deep </em> down.</p><p>It became quickly evident to him that Chloé was intimidating or, dare he say... <em> disliked </em> in their class. After a few days of him entering school, Chloé's possessiveness over him was well known. As a result, the other students in their class were cautious in approaching him since Chloé was almost always next to him, eyes like a hawk. She had a tendency to put down anyone who became too friendly with him, <em> especially </em> any of the girls.</p><p>Adrien could feel himself tense up as Chloé turned her attention to the short-haired girl approaching them with a tray of cookies. The girl, who Adrien knew was named Rose, had baked cookies for their class in honor of finishing their first quiz. It was a sweet gesture, and she had passed out the treats to the others in the class before making her way to them. There was a wide grin on her face, and it was obvious that she was oblivious to the air of disgust that was emanating from the blonde girl beside him. </p><p>“Want a cookie?” she asked.</p><p>Chloé narrowed her eyes at the tray of cookies, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Is this from store bought dough?"</p><p>"Yeah! Is there a problem?”</p><p>"<em> Yuck," </em> Chloé hissed, pinching her nose one with one hand. "You think me and Adrien would even touch something like that? <em> Please, </em>how revolting! Get it away from me.”</p><p>Rose's smile faltered at her words. Adrien frowned. She was taking it way too far, and he knew he had to step in.  “Chloé-”</p><p>"Just <em> shut up </em> and take one, Chloé."</p><p>The voice rang loud and clear from the front of the room. The whole class shifted their attention to the dark-haired girl in the front of the room, whose blue eyes were glaring daggers in their direction. Adrien remembered that her name was Marinette. She seemed like a nice girl, judging from the interactions he had seen of her with the other students in their class, although she seemed to prefer to keep to herself and Alya.</p><p> But the look she was giving Chloé sent chills through his spine. It seemed to have had the same effect on Chloé as well, as she kept quiet and merely exchanged a nasty look back at the other girl. </p><p>The room was tense for a moment, before others in the class also began to voice their agreements with Marinette. </p><p>“Marinette’s right!”</p><p>“A simple no would have been fine.”</p><p>“Geez...poor Rose.”</p><p>Chloé scowled, drawing her lips into a tight line as she muttered something about, "stupid Dupain-Cheng", under her breath. She begrudgingly took a cookie from the tray.</p><p>“Thanks Rose. These look amazing.” Adrien gave the girl a grateful look before taking a baked good for himself. He glanced back at the front row, and was surprised to see Marinette staring at him with an unreadable expression. When she noticed that he was looking at her, she turned back around and started talking to her seatmate, Alya. For a second he wondered if she actually had been looking at him or if his mind was simply playing tricks. He shrugged it off and took a bite of the cookie. </p><hr/><p>Adrien walked to his locker after class had ended, relieved that he had some freedom now. Chloé wasn't glued to his hip now, since she had left school early that day for "extremely important business that no one was capable of understanding".</p><p>He sighed, putting his books away. Chloé’s fiasco in their last class only seemed to widen the distance he felt with all his other classmates. Yet another day had gone by with him not being able to befriend anyone other than Chloé. </p><p>He felt Plagg rustle around in his book bag. “Adrien,” the kwami groaned. “Got any spare camembert? I’m so bored that I want to snack on something.”  </p><p>“Later, Plagg. I’ll give you some after school’s done, ” he whispered. He grinned to himself. The best way for him to unwind from how stuffy he felt would be to turn into Cat Noir and leap around Paris. He felt so free being able to soar through the air and not have to deal with the mounting pressure from his schedule and...his father.</p><p>"Adrien,” a voice interrupted.</p><p>Startled, Adrien had to steel himself from slamming his locker out of surprise. He turned his head to see a dark-haired girl peering up at him with a blank stare.</p><p>Marinette.</p><p>Marinette had only introduced herself to him briefly when he first became a student in her class. But besides that, it didn't seem like Marinette had much interest in him, so it was strange to have her suddenly approach him like this. He gave her a friendly smile. “Hi Marinette. What’s up?”</p><p>“When are you going to stop being her lackey?"</p><p>"I'm sorry?"</p><p>"Chloé. You let her do whatever she wants with you."</p><p>Adrien had been approached a few times before about the same topic by some of the other guys in their class. "She's an old friend of mine. We've been friends since childhood, so it's always been like this," he said. It was the truth after all, and people would always let him go from the topic after that response.</p><p>She frowned. "You look miserable though."</p><p>Adrien was taken aback by her honesty. "What?"</p><p>"You're popular. People want to be around you, and they're trying too to. But I've seen the look in your eye. I can tell that you're unhappy with this whole situation."</p><p>Adrien was surprised to hear that. She had been that observant with him? "I'm...lost. What are you trying to say?"</p><p>"You need to stand up for yourself," Marinette said, crossing her arms, "stop being a pushover that lets everyone do what they want with you."</p><p>"A pushover?" Adrien repeated, mild irritation seeping into his voice. Who was she to judge him like that when they barely knew each other? "Hold on, I am <em> not </em> a pushover <em> . </em>"</p><p>Marinette shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. It sure seems that way though to everyone else." Her gaze hardened. "Alya told me that you’re a famous model from a rich family. If that’s true, then you probably came to this public school for a sense of freedom from whatever your life is, right? So it doesn't make sense why you're allowing Chloé to hold you back from getting what you really want." She paused, waiting to see if Adrien would reply. When he didn’t, the edges of her lip quirked up in a subtle smirk. "Unless you <em> like </em> being a status symbol for her to show off. If that’s the reason why, then keep this up. Anyways, that's all I wanted to say. See you." Without so much as another glance in his direction, Marinette left him at his locker.</p><p>Adrien stared after her, dumbfounded. He could hear Plagg snickering from his bag.</p><p>"Well, she hit the nail on the coffin, didn't she?" the kwami whispered snarkily. Adrien shushed him in response, but his grip on his book bag strap tightened.</p><hr/><p>Cat Noir soared through the Parisian night, letting out a gleeful cheer as the wind swept through his blonde hair. He landed on the top of a building, and searched the area for any signs of something going amiss.</p><p>Akuma attacks had been happening less frequently nowadays, so most of his superhero duties had been dealing with petty criminals he spotted during his nightly runs. To be honest, fighting criminals had become rather mundane for him, since he couldn't exactly use his superpower of destruction to take out a normal civilian.</p><p>Plagg had told him that the lack of akumas was a good thing however, since apparently, he lacked the power to properly get rid of them. When Adrien asked why, the kwami told him how typically the Cat Miraculous holder was always partnered with another Miraculous that did have the power to cleanse the akumas, but the master had not been able to find anyone suitable for the role. Whoever this master person was had been taking care of all the previous akumas that Cat Noir had fought before, but was apparently desperate to find someone for the role due to his old age. Plagg had told him that whoever was behind the recent akuma attacks was now waiting for a clear Miraculous holder to show up.</p><p>The lack of akumas however, meant that there was nothing much for Cat Noir to do.</p><p>Still, even if the streets of Paris were safe from harm, Cat Noir always had an itch to transform and soar through the city with his staff. It was a way for him to take his mind off of all the stress of his normal life, and gave him a sense of freedom.</p><p>Tonight, he was doing his best to relieve his pent up frustrations from the events of the day.</p><p>Cat Noir considered himself to be rather good-natured, but it would be a lie to not acknowledge what Marinette had said to him had hurt. He had no idea that the girl who preferred to keep to herself would turn out to be so blunt, especially in their first ever conversation together.</p><p>A pushover, she had said, with a stare that dug into his soul.</p><p>It hurt even more because deep down, he knew that she was right. A girl, one that he barely even knew, read him like a book and had called him out on one of his biggest flaws. He was a pushover. Someone who just blindly obeyed what was told of him. </p><p>He sighed and used his staff to leap up into the air once again.</p><p>From far away, something strange had caught his eye. Cat Noir froze when he landed on top of another building. Using his staff, he propelled himself to fly across several other infrastructures before landing in a dark alleyway. Thanks to his night vision, he clearly could see the limp figure of a man crumpled against the brick wall. Cat Noir rushed over the man's side and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey," he called. "You okay?"</p><p>The man let out a groan in response.</p><p>Good, he was still conscious. Cat Noir craned his neck to take a good look at the man's face and couldn't help but cringe at the sight. Dry blood caked his face-his nose was bleeding and one of his eyes was shut tight and swollen. Someone had beat him up bad. "Who did this to you?" he asked.</p><p>"The… the guy in the mask," the man croaked out.</p><p><em> ‘Mask?’ </em>Could it be an akuma? Cat Noir took a good look at their surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to have happened-like people turning into stone or being frozen in time-which a typical akuma attack brought. It probably was just another normal crime that had occurred.</p><p>Cat Noir turned his attention back to the man. "Anyways, we should get you to a hospital. Can you stand?"</p><p>The man shakily stood, and Cat Noir helped to steady him. The man then opened his good eye, and an expression of fear spread across his face. "Cat Noir?!" he screamed. The man swore and stumbled away from him. He took off running in the other direction, as if his body was in perfectly fine shape.</p><p>Cat Noir stared at the man in confusion. Screaming in fear definitely was not a typical reaction he got when he helped someone out. He shrugged it off and hopped onto the top of the closest building to scan the surrounding area to find whoever the assailant was.</p><hr/><p>Cat Noir had stayed up late into the night to find the masked person the man had spoken about, but he had found no leads after an hour of searching. He gave up after a while, since he had school early next morning.</p><p>Now Adrien suffered the consequences. He entered school feeling groggy from a lack of sleep, but he immediately woke up when Chloé greeted him and insisted that they walked together to class again. She grabbed onto his arm as they walked into the building. Marinette's voice in his head wouldn't disappear.</p><p>
  <em> Pushover. </em>
</p><p>She dragged him in class behind her. Chloé was going off about something that her dad had done and how important it would be to the class as she pulled him towards their usual spot. Marinette was talking with Alya, before noticing the two of them come in. She briefly made eye contact with Adrien, and her gaze settled into one of cold disappointment after spotting Chloé's arm wrapped around his. He furrowed his eyebrows. He could tell what she was thinking.</p><p>
  <em> Pushover. </em>
</p><p>"Sabrina," he said, loud enough to be heard over Chloé's monologue. The red-haired girl looked up at him in surprise from her seat. “Want to switch seats?”</p><p>Sabrina's expression brightened for the first time in what had seemed like forever. "Yes!" She quickly gathered her belongings and stood, eager to sit next to her best friend.</p><p>Chloé looked at him in shock. "Adrien! How could you?!"</p><p>"I feel bad taking your friend's spot. Let's switch for now, okay?" He managed to twist his arm out of Chloé's grip and made his way past Sabrina. He could feel the entire class watching as he took those few steps down to his new seat. Chloé let out a verbal huff of indignation and plopped down into her seat with her arms crossed, as Sabrina quickly claimed her old spot giddily.</p><p>Adrien let out a sigh of relief as he sat down. He glanced up to see Marinette giving him a smile, before turning around. If he blinked, he probably would have missed it. It was an expression that he wasn't aware that she would be capable of making after his mortifying encounter with her.</p><p>But, Adrien would admit, it was a nice sight.</p><p>A tap on his shoulder brought his attention to his new seatmate. "Dude, that was pretty cool of you," the guy next to him said. "Sabrina's been miserable ever since Chloé booted her." He was grinning at him and extended a friendly hand out.</p><p>Adrien glanced at his hand and then back at his smiling classmate. "Thanks." Adrien smiled back and reached out to grab his hand in a handshake. "Nino, right?"</p><p>There was a warm feeling bubbling up inside of him, as he realized that this could be the start of a friendship that he had always desired for.</p><p>Perhaps Marinette was onto something. </p><hr/><p>
  <b>A/N: end of chapter 1!  As you can see, Marinette's character/background has been changed the most in this AU (she is neither a superhero nor just a normal high schooler *wink wink*), but part of the story will be figuring that out from Adrien's POV.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Please leave any feedback (whether negative or positive)! </b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Chapter 2:</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Adrien wanted to talk to her more.</p>
<p>He didn't know much about Marinette other than the fact that she could be, well, blunt, but there was something he found intriguing about her. Maybe it was because he had been so guarded by his father and the people around him. She was almost like a breath of fresh air from the usual stuffiness of his life.</p>
<p>He was lost in his thoughts when he arrived at school the next morning, until Chloé flew towards him with open arms.</p>
<p>"Adrikins!"</p>
<p>Adrien felt himself start at the sound of Chloé's shrill voice. The blonde girl promptly latched herself onto his arm, which made him stiffen in discomfort. "Oh, Adrikins, I was so sad that you switched seats in class, but I'll forgive you as long as you keep escorting me to class, okay?"</p>
<p>"Um, actually–" he began.</p>
<p>"Oh perfect, I knew you'd agree!" Chloé exclaimed, snuggling her head onto his shoulder. "This whole school will be jealous of us, Adrikins–"</p>
<p>Adrien then spotted Marinette, heading up the steps of the school.</p>
<p>"–especially that stupid, Dupain-Cheng girl–"</p>
<p>"Sorry Chloé! I gotta go," Adrien interrupted, using his free hand to gently push Chloé off of him. Freeing himself, he hurried over to the pigtailed girl, not hearing Chloé's shocked outbursts. "Marinette!" he called.</p>
<p>Marinette looked at him with surprise as he caught up to her. "Oh, hi Adrien. What do you need?"</p>
<p>"Nothing in particular. I've been wanting to talk to you more," he said. Marinette's eyes seemed to widen at this, and he felt himself go warm, realizing that he had just blurted out his thoughts.</p>
<p>"Oh," she said simply.</p>
<p>Adrien felt his face heat up more at her response. "I –uh– didn't mean anything by that–"</p>
<p>"To be honest, I thought you wouldn't want to talk with me after what I said to you," she continued.</p>
<p>Adrien blinked. He wasn't expecting that answer. "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"Well, I said some rude things to you yesterday about you and Chloé when I didn't even know you that well." She sighed. "I'm kind of sensitive when it comes to Chloé since we've... never gotten along. It upset me that she threw Sabrina away like that for you, and you didn't even seem comfortable around her. But still, I think I owe you an apology."</p>
<p>"You don't need to apologize," he said. He scratched the back of his head. " I actually... wanted to thank you for what you told me."</p>
<p>Her eyebrows raised up. "You do?"</p>
<p>"Yeah. Not gonna lie, I was kind of put off by it at first, but it was sort of an awakening call for me. Chloé will always be a good friend of mine, but I definitely needed some space from her at school."</p>
<p>"Don't we all," she said wearily, stopping on the top of the stairs to look down. "She's been glaring at us the whole time from over there."</p>
<p>Adrien followed her line of sight. Sure enough, Chloé was fuming from below–her shoulders were hunched up with her hands rolled into fists by her sides, and her eyes were shooting daggers in their direction, particularly at Marinette. It's a look that Adrien was all too familiar with from years of knowing the blonde girl–she was seconds away from blowing off. A tense moment later, Chloé turned her nose up. She then stormed up the steps and past them without a second look at them.</p>
<p>"She seemed pretty upset for some reason," Adrien thought out loud. Was she that mad at him for switching seats? He noticed that Marinette was giving him a strange look. "What?"</p>
<p>"Nothing, it's just–" she broke out into a laugh, which was a pleasant sound to Adrien. Unconsciously, he found himself grinning as well.</p>
<p>"–You're a bit odd, aren't you Adrien?"</p>
<p>Adrien's smile faltered. "Odd?"</p>
<p>"I've never been thanked for telling someone off before," she explained. "Guess I was wrong about thinking that you were just going to be a snobby rich boy."</p>
<p>Adrien couldn't tell if she was teasing him. "Uh, thanks for changing your opinion on me."</p>
<p>"Of course! Anytime." Okay, now he was certain she was teasing him. "I'll see you in class then?" she added.</p>
<p>"Yeah. I'll see you later."</p>
<p><em>She has a nice laugh</em>, Adrien thought, as he split ways from her to head to class.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"What did you do, Dupain-Cheng?"</p>
<p>Marinette sighed, closing her locker. "What are you talking about?"</p>
<p>Chloé rolled her eyes, putting her hand on her hip. "Don't play dumb with me. What did you say to Adrien?"</p>
<p>"Nothing important."</p>
<p>"Nothing important?" she repeated, sounding indignant. "Nothing important?!"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear?"</p>
<p>"'I'm sorry?'" Chloé mocked. "Sorry doesn't cut it! I know you said something to him, Marinette. Sabrina saw you two talking, and Adrien has never pushed me away before!"</p>
<p>"Fine then, Chloé, I'll tell you. I told him to stand up for himself around you."</p>
<p>"Stand up for himself?" Chloé scoffed. "Why on earth would you tell him that? Me and Adrikins have been friends for years! How dare you try and meddle with our relationship!"</p>
<p>"I felt bad for him after watching you drag him around this school." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe he just decided to listen to me."</p>
<p>"Oh, please! Adrikins and I have been friends for years! You really think he would listen to someone like you? I know you did something else!"</p>
<p>"Whatever you say, Chloé." She pushed past her until Chloé's arm shot out to block her. She gave a cold look at the blonde. "We have class soon."</p>
<p>Chloé was seething. "I know what you're doing, Marinette. You're trying to get in the way of us because you're jealous. He's mine."</p>
<p>Marinette rolled her eyes. "You can't own a person, Chloé."</p>
<p>"Hmph! Regardless, the fact that you think you can mess with me is insulting! We're on different levels." She placed a perfectly manicured finger on Marinette's shoulder. "Don't forget that, Dupain-Cheng. You need to know your place. I'm the esteemed daughter of this city's mayor, while you're just the lowly daughter of–well, whatever your father does to scrape by."</p>
<p>Marinette's eyes twitched. She grabbed Chloé's arm, squeezing it hard enough for the girl to wince and yell, "Who do you think you are? Let go of me right this instance! My daddy will–"</p>
<p>"Don't you dare speak about my dad like that," Marinette hissed. "It's because of people like you that he–" Her grip tightened, causing the blonde to let out a yelp. She clenched her jaw and sighed, relaxing her hand. "I might have tolerated the things you've said to me before, but I'm not the same person anymore. So I'm warning you, Chloé." Marinette leaned in closer to the other girl's ear. "Don't talk about my family like that. Or else." She let go and walked past her. "See you."</p>
<p>Chloé scowled, rubbing her sore arm. "Did you just threaten me?! The actual nerve–you really took a turn for the worse this year, haven't you Dupain-Cheng!" she screeched after her.</p>
<p>"Yeah. I have," Marinette muttered.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Adrien found himself becoming fast friends with Nino. Nino was probably the most laid–back person Adrien had ever met. He was goofy, and had a huge love for all things music and fun related, which Adrien appreciated. It was good energy to be around.</p>
<p>"My old man wanted to kill me when he found out that I was taking my little bro's snacks," Nino said. "I couldn't help it though–they were so good!"</p>
<p>"Dude, you're a terrible older brother," Adrien replied, chuckling.</p>
<p>"I know!"</p>
<p>Marinette then trudged into class with a sour expression on her face, which Adrien noticed. Did something happen when they parted ways? Adrien raised a hand to greet her from his seat. Before he could say anything, Chloé barged into the classroom and barrelled into the other girl with her shoulder. Marinette stumbled a few steps. Pretending as if nothing happened, the blonde girl then turned to him and slammed her hands onto his desk, leaning in. "Oh, Adrikins! So nice to see you!" she exclaimed, poking her nose towards him.</p>
<p>Adrien instinctively reeled backwards. "Um, hey." He craned his neck around her. "Is Marinette okay?"</p>
<p>"Oh my, was that the drabby looking thing I ran into?" Chloé gasped, in mock surprise. "I'm SO sorry, Marinette. I didn't see you there!"</p>
<p>Marinette was glowering at her. She exhaled a breath out through her nose and then plastered on a smile. "You're good, Chloé! I'm relieved that it was you and not a bug," she said in a similar tone. "I thought a fly had hit me."</p>
<p>Chloé's eye twitched. "What did you just say–a fly?!"</p>
<p>A few snickers erupted from the onlookers in their class. Marinette made her way to her seat and nonchalantly sat down, giving Alya a high-five.</p>
<p>Chloé was fuming, glaring daggers at the other girl. She walked up the stairs, and kicked Marinette's bag, causing it to fumble down the steps. "Oops," she sneered. "I tripped." Letting out a cackle, she continued heading over to her row and plopped into her seat with a smug look on her face.</p>
<p>Marinette bit her lip, as if holding something in. Wordlessly, she stood and grabbed her bag, sitting back down in her chair.</p>
<p>"Geez, what's her problem?" Alya grumbled.</p>
<p>She's just being Chloé," Marinette said. "Don't worry about it Alya."</p>
<p>"If you say so girl," Alya said, sounding uncertain.</p>
<p>Nino leaned in to Adrien. "Dude, is Chloé still upset over you not sitting next to her and taking it out on Marinette?" he whispered.</p>
<p>"Maybe? I hope not." He glanced over at Marinette, who had a dark expression on her face. He had a feeling that something else had happened between them.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Miss Bustier asked for two volunteers to retrieve some worksheets from the office for the class. Marinette and Alya had volunteered and left the class to go do so. Adrien couldn't help but wish he had gone instead. The lecture was particularly hard to pay full attention to today. He rested his cheek in the palm of his hand as he absentmindedly watched Miss Bustier write something out on the chalkboard.</p>
<p>Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Chloé making her way down the steps. She stopped by Marinette's seat and crouched down.</p>
<p>Adrien raised an eyebrow, slowly straightening up in his seat to get a better look.</p>
<p>She pulled something out of her mouth–a piece of chewing gum–and stuck it on the wooden surface.</p>
<p>"Chloé," he hissed. "What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Just a present for my dear friend. Don't concern yourself with it, Adrikins," Chloé whispered, smirking. Before he could say anything else, she hurried back up to her seat, snickering with Sabrina. Miss Bustier was too caught up in her lecture to notice what had happened.</p>
<p>Alya and Marinette returned at that moment, holding a stack of paper in their hands. "Here you go, Miss Bustier," Alya said, as both girls placed the stacks on the desk.</p>
<p>"Great, thank you girls! You can go take your seats now."</p>
<p>They nodded and headed back to their spots.</p>
<p>Crap, he had to warn her.</p>
<p>There was no need, however. She seemed to have seen the chewed up piece of gum already. She hovered over her seat, examining the offender that was on it. Without hesitation, she bent down, scraping the piece of gum off with her thumb. She then walked up the steps to where Chloé was, and stared down at the blonde.</p>
<p>"Chloé." The entire class was looking at them now. Miss Bustier stopped talking to see what was happening</p>
<p>"What?" Chloé growled, giving her an annoyed look. "You couldn't possibly be accusing <em>me</em> of putting that there now, are you?"</p>
<p>"Of course not. I'm only returning–" She took her thumb, with the piece of gum attached onto it, and pressed it onto Chloé's forehead, firmly. "–what you lost, Chloé," she finished, smiling sweetly.</p>
<p>A collective gasp rang out from the other students, before laughter erupted. Chloé blinked rapidly, her eyes nearly doubling in size, as she processed what was now on her forehead. She then let out an ear-piercing scream, peeling the gum off of her face in disgust. Her face was bright red–part humiliation and mostly rage. "How dare you!" she snarled.</p>
<p>"Chloé and Marinette! Settle down!" Miss Bustier yelled over the commotion. Immediately, everyone quieted down at the sound of their usually pleasant teacher raising her voice. "Marinette, please return to your seat. I'd like a word with you after class."</p>
<p>Marinette gritted her teeth but nodded silently, returning back to her seat. Chloé cast a smug look. "That's what you get Dupain-Cheng," she huffed.</p>
<p>"Chloé, you aren't off the hook either," the teacher added.</p>
<p>The blonde girl pulled her lips into a thin line, scowling.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Adrien found Marinette after school had ended, staring up at the rain from the entrance of school.</p>
<p>"You okay, Marinette?" he asked, coming up to her to stand next to her. "You're not in trouble, are you?"</p>
<p>She seemed slightly startled by his voice. "Oh, hi Adrien. Yeah, I'm not in trouble or anything. Miss Bustier let me off with a warning."</p>
<p>"That's good," he said, relieved that she wasn't going to be punished. Marinette stayed quiet, and Adrien examined her. There was a tired look in her eyes, as if something was burdening her. There was something more than she was letting on, but he had a feeling it wasn't his place to pry. Adrien wanted to wrap his arms around her for a moment, but he shook his head, resisting the urge. "What about Chloé?" he asked.</p>
<p>"Miss Bustier didn't talk to her."</p>
<p>"What, why?" he asked, bewildered. It was clear as day to anyone in class that Chloé had started it. In fact, she was usually the instigator for all sorts of conflict, as Adrien had come to realize.</p>
<p>"She's the daughter of the mayor, so teachers have always turned a blind eye on her. I told you that we never got along. She's always picked on me before and we've fought–a lot–but I've always been the one who gets in the trouble," Marinette said, clenching her fists. "She grew up thinking she could do or say whatever she wants to other people just because she has money and power. I think that's why she always gets on my nerves."</p>
<p>"Yeah, that sounds like Chloé," Adrien commented, thinking about the times he spent with her when they were younger. He sighed. "Deep down, she has some good in her though," he added.</p>
<p>"Huh." Marinette sounded highly unconvinced. "I won't believe it until I see it. She's been the bane of my existence for so long."</p>
<p>He chuckled at this. "You were kind of cool today though," he said.</p>
<p>She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Cool?"</p>
<p>"The way you stood up for yourself. It was impressive."</p>
<p>She seemed surprised at first, but then broke out into a bright smile, making her eyes crinkle into the shape of crescent moons. Adrien stared at her, feeling his breath hitch. She has a nice smile, he realized.</p>
<p>He almost didn't hear her say, "Thanks, Adrien."</p>
<p>"Oh, um, sure," he said stupidly, breaking his gaze. He could feel his face heating up.</p>
<p>"Adrien," Marinette said, pointing at something. "I think your ride is here?"</p>
<p>He looked at where she was pointing. Sure enough, the limo he was driven around in had pulled up to the school. His bodyguard, affectionately nicknamed the Gorilla, was standing outside, indicating that they needed to go. "Ah, right, I have fencing practice today," he muttered. "Guess I have to go now."</p>
<p>"Good luck! I'll see you around then." She stepped out into the rain, using her hand to shield her face from the rain drops.</p>
<p>"You don't have an umbrella, Marinette?" he called after her.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I didn't bring one. I had no idea it would rain. Don't worry about me, I don't mind the rain too much!" She waved goodbye to him and continued down the steps.</p>
<p>"Wait!" Adrien blurted. Marinette stopped and looked back at him, quizzically, as he caught up to her. The rain was getting his hair wet, but he paid no attention to it. Before he could process his thoughts, the words came out first. "Do you want a ride?"</p>
<p>"A ride?" she echoed.</p>
<p>He nodded, swallowing. What was he saying? His father would definitely be upset if he found out that Adrien was late to his fencing appointment just because he gave a classmate a ride home. But, in spite of that, he knew he couldn't just let her go home in the rain like this. There was a strange part of him that wanted to talk to her more.</p>
<p>She seemed taken aback by his proposal, but a small smile spread across her face. "That's nice of you, Adrien, but it's okay. I wouldn't want you to be late to practice." She held a hand out to catch raindrops, peering up at the gray sky. "Rain showers like this disappear as fast as they appear, anyways."</p>
<p>"I see," Adrien said, breathlessly. Standing in the rain like that, with drops of water rolling down her face and looking up at the sky with a soft smile, Adrien could only think of one word to describe her.</p>
<p><em>Pretty</em>, he thought.</p>
<p>Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over Adrien, and the rain stopped falling on his head. He craned his neck up to see the Gorilla towering over him, with an umbrella in his hand. The burly man grunted, letting Adrien know that they had to leave now.</p>
<p>"I'll see you, Marinette," he said weakly, before turning around to walk away with his bodyguard. He looked over his shoulder and gave her a wave, which she reciprocated. His bodyguard's wide shoulders then blocked his view of her.</p>
<p>Adrien followed the Gorilla to the limo and sat in the back. The engine started as the car came to life and began to move. Adrien looked out the window, as he often did during these silent car rides, and blinked when he noticed the sun was now peeking out, casting a warm glow on everything below.</p>
<p>The rain had stopped.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I rewrote this so many times lol (also did not know Adrikins was how you spell it so will go back and fix in the previous chapter). If there are any mistakes you find, feel free to point them out please :,) Not much here in plot development, but the next few chapters will focus more on that.  So far I have a few ideas, but still got to figure things out. As always, please leave any feedback (whether negative or positive). It really helps in knowing what direction to take this!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Plagg, hey, wake up!"</p><p>The kwami stirred in his sleep, but continued to snore. Adrien poked him, causing him to open one eye. "Is it morning already?" he groaned.</p><p>"No. It's... still midnight."</p><p>Plagg's eyes shot wide open, and they gleamed yellow in the dark. "Midnight? Why did you wake me up?" The kwami narrowed his eyes. "This better be for a midnight snack."</p><p>"Not exactly," Adrien said, sounding apologetic. "I want to investigate tonight."</p><p>Plagg sat up from curling into a ball, his face scrunched up in disbelief. "Didn't you just have fencing practice, another photoshoot, and Chinese lessons to top it off? How are you not tired?"</p><p>"Well," Adrien started, scratching the back of his head. "I was feeling restless and couldn't sleep."</p><p>"Restless? About what?"</p><p>"I'm not… really sure," he confessed.</p><p>"Oh, I see why." A mischievous smirk spread across the kwami's face, an expression that Adrien was unfortunately, much too familiar with. "Just because that girl spoke to you today you can't sleep!" Plagg cackled. "I thought being a teen model and all would mean you wouldn't lose your cool just because a girl talked to you. Still a young boy at heart, aren't you Adrien?"</p><p>Adrien blinked, taken aback for a second, and frowned. "What? No way," he scoffed, brushing the kwami's words off. "I'm just happy that we're on talking terms now, that's all."</p><p>"Mhm," Plagg hummed, unconvinced.</p><p>Adrien decided it was best to quickly change the subject. "Anyways, I want to look into the incident from the other night. We never caught the culprit, and it doesn't feel right knowing that he's still out there."</p><p>"The guy in the mask? Just seems like a normal criminal to me. I'm sure he'll be caught eventually, Adrien." Plagg yawned, curling back into a ball. "Let's just go back to sleep."</p><p>"I'll feed you a load of camembert when we get back."</p><p>Plagg sprang into the air, his eyes sparkling. "Well, you should have said that sooner. Let's go catch this crook!"</p><hr/><p>Cat Noir soared from building to building in one of the sketchier neighborhoods of Paris. It was relatively close to where the last incident occurred, and he was certain that it would be the best starting place to gain more leads on the masked criminal.</p><p>A part of Cat Noir couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement from being in a sketchier part of Paris. His father would absolutely be livid if he ever found out that he even stepped foot into this part of the city.</p><p>Of course, his father would never find out.</p><p>The thought of this put an amused smile on Cat Noir's face as he continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop while surveying his surroundings.</p><p>His ears perked up.</p><p>
  <em>There!</em>
</p><p>He spotted a man sprawled out in a pile of overflowing garbage bags that was behind a rundown looking building. Bingo. Cat Noir landed on the street to get a closer look at the situation. Immediately, the stench of trash from the nearby dumpster hit him, and he pinched his nose.</p><p>His heightened sense of smell really did not come in handy in these situations.</p><p>The man's eyes were closed and his face was bruised up from what seemed like a nasty blow. He had been knocked out for some time. Cat Noir winced, having a pretty good inkling that this was a related assault to the previous one. "You okay there, buddy?" he called.</p><p>A moment passed and then with a loud groan, the man's eyes fluttered open, and he slowly sat up. He was disoriented and his eyes were unfocused. "Masked bastard got me good," he suddenly muttered.</p><p>So he could still talk! Good. "A guy in a mask did this to you?" he asked. "What did he look like?"</p><p>"Some freak in a red mask… took off with some of my things too, that bastard," the man grumbled and placed a hand on his throbbing head. "Damn…"</p><p>"A red mask," Cat Noir repeated, thoughtfully. It was a strange choice of color for someone who was going around and mugging people. Not very subtle for crimes.</p><p>The man blinked, as if realizing that he wasn't alone and whipped his head towards Cat Noir. He squinted his eyes at the superhero's dimly lit figure. "Who are you?" he demanded.</p><p>Cat Noir grinned. "Cat Noir. Pleased to make your acquaintance."</p><p>"Cat Noir?!"</p><p>"The one and only," he confirmed. "Now don't get too excited–I need you to tell me more about this masked figure while I help you out here."</p><p>"Like hell I would! " the man yelled, suddenly clambering his way out of the trash. He scrambled onto his feet, stumbling a little, and hurried off.</p><p>"Hey–wait!" Cat Noir called after him, incredulous. Why were people reacting to him like this?</p><p>"Stay away from me!" the man screamed back from the distance.</p><p>"What?" Cat Noir contemplated chasing after the man, but decided that the guy already had a rough night. There were more pressing matters at hand, like...</p><p>Who was the masked figure that was going around assaulting people? What was their goal?</p><p>And why did all of his victims seem to be scared of him?</p><p>Despite all these questions, Cat Noir at least was certain of one thing: this didn't seem like your everyday kind of criminal.</p><p>Cat Noir searched the area again that night, but only found rats or the occasional drunk stumbling back home for the night. There wasn't anyone suspicious or a masked thug to be found. Reluctantly, he gave up for the night since he had school again in the morning and went to sleep, his mind still racing, but ultimately losing to the needs of his sleep-deprived body.</p><hr/><p>Adrien was somewhat surprised to see Alya and Nino conversing fervently in class when he arrived–he never noticed before that the two were that close as friends. Alya normally was always with Marinette...who didn't seem to be at school yet.</p><p>"Hey guys!" He slid down next to Nino and the two gave him friendly smiles in response. "So, uh, where's Marinette?" he asked. He glanced at the door, but there was no sign of someone coming in.</p><p>"Marinette's probably running late, as always," Alya said, shaking her head in obvious disappointment, but the smile on her face betrayed this.</p><p>Adrien laughed, realizing just how often Marinette seemed to burst into class seconds before the bell rang. Prior to getting to know her, he hadn't paid much attention other than feeling a bit bad for her whenever the teachers acknowledged her tardiness with a resigned comment. Now he found it kind of amusing how flustered she had looked when she did come in late.</p><p>"Also, Adrien, perfect timing," Nino said, interrupting his thoughts. "We were just debating about Cat Noir and need your opinion."</p><p>"Cat Noir?" Adrien perked up at the mention of his alter ego, a proud smile growing on his face. "He seems like a pretty cool guy. What about him?" he asked, feigning innocence.</p><p>"Dude you gotta listen to this. Alya was just telling me about her blog that she's running on him."</p><p>Adrien's grin only widened at this news. He was ecstatic that his superhero alter ego had been garnering a pretty big fanbase, and even more so now that it was growing amongst his classmates. "Really?" he exclaimed.</p><p>Alya nodded eagerly at his excitement. "Yeah, I'm calling it the Noirblog, and it's all about Paris's one and only superhero, Cat Noir. Pretty cool, huh?"</p><p>A blog all about him! That was amazing. "That is pretty cool," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. "So, what kinds of things do you write about him?"</p><p>"You're going to have to read it to find out," Alya said, with a wink. "But I'll let you on what I'm currently focusing on." She paused for dramatic effect. "Cat Noir's true identity."</p><p>Adrien went cold. He managed a forced smile. "Oh, that's...that's cool."</p><p>"Dude, it's whack though. Alya was just telling me her crazy theory on who he is," Nino said. "She thinks he's some dude that escaped a failed freak government accident and wears a mask to hide his scars."</p><p>Adrien didn't know how to react.</p><p>"Come on, Nino," Alya interjected. "It's way more likely than having a normal, decent-looking guy under the mask. Why else would Cat Noir be active mostly at night, plus have a mask on, if he's not trying to hide his face?"</p><p>"Maybe he's just a busy dude who's only free at night!"</p><p>"Hmm. Doubt it!"</p><p>"Cat Noir's definitely good-looking," Adrien said firmly.</p><p>Maybe a little too firmly. Both Alya and Nino were staring at him.</p><p>Nino broke out into a grin and clapped him on the back. "See! I knew Adrien would agree with me. Two to one Alya!"</p><p>"Okay, whatever," Alya said, rolling her eyes. She turned her attention to Adrien, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde. "How would you know Adrien? Have you seen him without the mask? "</p><p>Adrien scratched the back of his head, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. "Um, no. He just, uh, seems super cool with saving the city all the time, you know? So he's gotta be decent-looking at least.!"</p><p>He inwardly cringed.<em> That makes no sense!</em></p><p>Alya gave him a questioning look, which made him freeze in place. "I see," she said, after a moment.</p><p>Adrien stiffened even more. "See what?"</p><p>She grinned at him. "That you're also a superhero geek too, Adrien! Who would have known Mr. Teen Model Boy would be a huge Cat Noir fan?"</p><p>Adrien relaxed his shoulders and nodded weakly. "Yeah, for sure. I'm a huge...huge fan."</p><p>"Same here, dude!" Nino said, grabbing his shoulder. "By the way, a group of us are going to get ice cream after school today again. You should come if you're free for once, dude!"</p><p>"Totally! You should come and get to know some of the other people in our class," Alya added.</p><p>Adrien wanted to. He really wanted to. But he knew he couldn't. "I'd love to," he said, sighing, "but I have a photoshoot scheduled right after school so–"</p><p>"A photoshoot?!" Nino shouted, eyes widening.</p><p>Several confused heads turned their way at Nino's sudden outburst. Noticing this, Adrien placed a finger over his mouth. "Nino, shhh!"</p><p>"Sorry!" Nino said in a hushed whisper. " It's just, that's so cool, dude. You're an actual model! And I'm talking to you right now!"</p><p>Adrien waved a dismissive hand, feeling a bit embarrassed. "It's nothing too big. It's just for some magazine–"</p><p>"A magazine!" Nino repeated, his eyes were practically shining with stars. "That's so dope, dude! Just letting you know, I've been getting into photography and filmography and all that so that's awesome."</p><p>Nino was practically screaming 'invite me!' with the way his eyes were sparkling at Adrien. Adrien briefly considered it. The photoshoot was at the park, which was public, and he was sure that his father wouldn't mind, nor would he even have to know that some of his friends would be there to watch… "You guys could come watch if you want," he offered, after a moment, "it won't be much fun but–"</p><p>"YES, that sounds awesome!" Nino exclaimed immediately, clearly ecstatic.</p><p>"I'll tag along too," Alya said, grinning. "Sounds too cool to miss. We could always get ice cream next time anyways!"</p><p>Marinette then abruptly entered the classroom, panting. Adrien immediately sat up when he noticed her.</p><p>Her cheeks were flushed red and there was sweat on her brows, clear indicators that she had run for her life to get to class on time. Her hair was slightly disheveled and it was obvious that her pigtails were tied in a hurry.</p><p>She was a mess, but he couldn't help but brighten up at the sight of her.</p><p>Then their eyes met.</p><p>He quickly looked away, realizing that he had been staring at her.</p><p>"Oh Marinette, perfect timing!" Alya said. "Get over here, girl."</p><p>Marinette managed a smile and walked over to them. "Hi guys," she said, breathlessly.</p><p>Nino tensed up when she got closer to them. "M-Marinette!" he exclaimed.</p><p>Adrien noted how uncharacteristically nervous his friend sounded, but decided to not question it and turned to the dark-haired girl. "You okay, Marinette?"</p><p>Marinette nodded. "Yeah! I just..." She looked at the floor, embarrassed. "I woke up like ten minutes ago."</p><p>"Oh, girl," Alya sighed, clicking her tongue in disapproval. Her eyes focused on Marinette's back, which was empty. "Did you forget your bag again?"</p><p>Marinette checked her shoulder for a strap, and a look of horror appeared on her face. "Oh no," she muttered.</p><p>Alya chuckled. "You still have your moments sometimes, don't you Marinette?"</p><p>"I sure do." Marinette smiled apologetically. "Alya, do you think I could borrow a pencil again for today?"</p><p>Before Alya could respond, Adrien held out his pencil for Marinette to take. "Here, Marinette."</p><p>Both Alya and Marinette looked at him in surprise. Adrien felt himself heat up, realizing that she had directed her question to Alya. He had automatically jumped in without much thought just to help her out.</p><p>"Oh. Are you sure?" Marinette asked, reaching out a hesitant hand.</p><p>He maintained his composure, despite the slight panic he had just felt. "Yeah, of course."</p><p>She took his pencil from him, and offered him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Adrien."</p><p>"By the way Marinette, you made it just in time," Alya said. "Adrien just invited us to come watch his photoshoot after class today."</p><p>"A photoshoot?" Marinette repeated.</p><p>"Ah, yeah, it's just a shoot for a magazine cover. Nothing too big, so don't worry if you're busy Marinette," he said.</p><p>It was weird, but he knew his feelings were betraying his words.</p><p>He wanted her to come.</p><p>Marinette gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry Adrien! I don't think I can make it. I have to help my mom out with the bakery today."</p><p>He felt his stomach sink but he managed a smile. "That's fine. Don't worry about it."</p><p>The bell then rang, and the two girls waved goodbye to them and returned to their seats. Nino let out a deep breath that sounded like he had been holding in for a while.</p><p>Meanwhile, Adrien tried to ignore the squeeze of disappointment he felt.</p><hr/><p>"Adrien!"</p><p>Adrien stopped getting in his limo, turning around to see Marinette running towards him. "Marinette? What's up?" he asked, as she stopped in front of him.</p><p>"I caught you just in time," she breathed, and straightened up, holding out his pencil. "Here! Thanks again for letting me borrow it for the day."</p><p>"You didn't have to give it back to me," he said gently, taking it from her with a smile. His bodyguard grunted, signaling for him to hurry up. "Just a second!" he said back.</p><p>She glanced at the Gorilla and the limo. "Are you on the way to your photoshoot?"</p><p>Adrien shook his head. "Not yet! We have to stop by a few places to get ready first, like to change my clothes, and then I go do the photoshoot."</p><p>"Sounds like a busy day."</p><p>He grinned. "Yeah, I guess so."</p><p>They stood in silence for a second. Marinette was likely waiting for him to leave, but he stood there, wanting to say something else, but not sure what exactly the words were.</p><p>"I'm still a bit surprised that you're an actual model, Adrien," Marinette suddenly said, breaking the silence.</p><p>Adrien was unsure of how to interpret her words. "Really?" was all he could muster.</p><p>She nodded, giving him a thoughtful look. "I guess you don't really seem like one sometimes."</p><p>He felt like someone knocked him on the head. Adrien's mind started to race, trying to understand what she meant. He hated being vain, but it was the first time someone had ever told him that he didn't seem like a model. He knew it wasn't a big deal, but it stung for some reason, especially coming from her.</p><p>"What do you mean?" he finally asked, feeling cautious.</p><p>"Well," she began, "I haven't known you for all that long, but I can tell that you're actually a very kind person, Adrien. I guess you just don't really seem like someone famous to me, no offense." Marinette smiled warmly at him. "So, I'm glad we're friends."</p><p><em>Friends</em>.</p><p>Adrien stared at her, well aware that the sudden heat from his cheeks was reaching the tips of his ears. It hits him that the girl in front of him saw him as someone beyond his status as model, and he doesn't know what to make of the fluttering sensation in his stomach, or the rapid thudding of his heartbeat that was ringing in his ears. So he just stared at her, unsure of what to call what he was feeling right now, other than knowing that a part of him had been yearning for someone to tell him what she had just told him. But he knew he was relieved to hear her words.</p><p>Beyond relieved even.</p><p>"Oh no," Marinette muttered, checking the time on her phone. She seemed to not notice the impact her words had on him. "I got to go now, Adrien, but good luck with your photoshoot!"</p><p>Adrien came back to his senses. "O-oh, right." He paused. "Um, Marinette."</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>"No problem," she said, winking. "You'll kill it!" She gave him a final wave before hurrying off.</p><p>Adrien blinked. "That's not what I…" he murmured, trailing off as a smile crept onto his face.</p><p>Plagg suddenly popped his head out of Adrien's shirt pocket, a wide smirk on his face. "Well, well, someone's out here looking like a lovesick fool," he teased.</p><p>Adrien nearly jumped, but promptly shoved the kwami's head back into his pocket with his hand. "Plagg!" he hissed, his face bright red.</p><p>The kwami snickered in response.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: <br/>This chapter was actually meant to be longer but I decided to just split it into two parts for the next chapter! </p><p>But yay, the ball is rolling now :,) Adrien is catching feelings, but our boy is still a bit too oblivious to know just yet. I'm keeping Mari more of a mystery for now, but her side will soon be revealed (and you'll soon catch wind of what inspired this AU!). Next few chapters will have a lot more things going on and things will pick up soon!  As always, please leave your thoughts/feedback! If you reached this far of my A/N, let me know what you're doing to keep yourself entertained during quarantine as well :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cat Noir snuck back into his room, and de-transformed back into Adrien. Plagg popped off into the air, and Adrien caught the kwami in his hand. He grabbed a piece of cheese on his desk, which the kwami eagerly grabbed with his paws.</p><p>“That’s the fourth victim of the masked guy that we found now, but still no sign of the culprit,” Adrien said, sitting down on the foot of his bed. Plagg was too busy devouring the cheese to reply. “It’s weird–each time we find a victim, they end up running away,” he continued. “It’s almost like they’re scared of me. But why?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t blame them. Cat Noir can look scary at night.”</p><p>Adrien gave him a look. “Seriously though Plagg. Only the people who’ve encountered the masked man are scared of me. It’s almost as if…” He placed a hand on his chin. “They think that I attacked them.”</p><p>Plagg gulped down the last bite and laid down, his paws on his content belly. “Are you saying an akuma is behind these attacks? Like Copycat?”</p><p>Adrien nodded, recalling the rather annoying battle he had not too long ago with the akuma. Cat Noir had been able to best him in battle due to his superior combat skills, but dealing with the bad press the akuma had given him had been more than irritating.  “Maybe. It’s the only explanation I have with what’s going on.”</p><p>Plagg  sat up and shook his head. “But that’s impossible Adrien. Master dealt with that akuma properly.”</p><p>Adrien frowned.  “How can you be so sure? What if this “master” failed, and the akuma resurfaced?”</p><p>“Master would never fail,” Plagg responded adamantly. Adrien stared at his kwami, a bit taken aback from how serious the usually mischievous creature sounded. He knew from Plagg’s tone that he wouldn’t be able to argue with him further.</p><p>Adrien didn’t know exactly how much he could rely on this master Plagg often talked about, especially since he never met the person. Whoever this master person was a figure shrouded in mystery to him, and he wasn’t even sure how the person was taking care of the akumas that he as Cat Noir defeated. All he knew was by the time he woke up the next day, all the damages from his fight with the akumas would be gone, as if they never even happened in the first place. </p><p>Adrien knew he would have to see for himself who the crook was, to confirm that the criminal really wasn’t an akuma. He would definitely catch them soon.</p>
<hr/><p>Nothing too special went on at school and things seemed to be going on as usual for Adrien. This, of course, meant that Chloé and Marinette weren’t getting along as usual in class.</p><p>One day, Nino was telling Adrien about the new music he was trying to make as a hobby. Chloé overheard them from her seat and ever so pleasantly decided to voice her opinion. </p><p>“Come on, Nino,” she said, sneering down at the boy. “You really think your lame music is suitable for other people to listen to?”</p><p>Marinette entered the class room at the right moment to hear this, and,ever so vigilant in her role in making sure Chloé never got away with a snide comment, was the first to speak up. “Can it Chloé,” she said. “You don’t even have any talent to back up anything you say to Nino.”</p><p>Chloé responded with a deadly glare, exhaling sharply, and whipped her head away to the side. Marinette shot the blonde a distasteful look, before giving Nino an apologetic smile. “Don’t listen to her Nino. I bet your music is amazing.”</p><p>Adrien didn’t fail to catch the way Nino’s face seemed to heat up as he nodded in response to Marinette. Class was about to start however, and his attention shifted to the teacher as she walked into class. </p>
<hr/><p>Nino seemed to be in a daze the whole time.</p><p>“Nino, you okay?” Adrien asked, once class was dismissed and they were walking together in the hallway.</p><p>“Huh?” Nino started. “Uh, yeah totally, dude.”</p><p>Adrien was unconvinced, and raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Nino, are you–”</p><p>“You think I like Marinette? Ha ha! No way dude,” Nino blurted, laughing nervously.</p><p>Adrien stopped, to give his friend a surprised look. “You… what?”</p><p>Nino was visibly horrified, turning bright red. “Did I just say that out loud?” Adrien nodded, and Nino let out a groan. “Oh man, me and my big mouth.” He scratched the side of his face, abashedly. “But yeah, I admit it–I have a crush on Marinette. Ever since she stood up for me against Chloé in the beginning of the school year, I’ve literally seen sparkles around her each time I see her.”</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Adrien had a funny feeling rise in his chest, as if someone was tightening their grip around his heart. He forced a smile on his face as Nino continued, “The problem is, I can’t talk to her. At all. My brain shut down around her because I get so nervous around her.”</p><p>Suddenly Nino’s odd behavior around the pigtailed girl made a lot of sense now.</p><p>“Do you have any tips, man?” Nino suddenly asked.</p><p>“Tips?”</p><p>“I mean, you’re like the most popular boy in school, man, I bet you know a thing or two on how to talk to girls!”</p><p>Adrien scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed by Nino’s compliment. “Well, not really, to be honest. I guess... just be yourself around her?”</p><p>Nino sighed, looking disheartened. “Easy for you to say, Adrien. You’re already a super cool model.”</p><p>Adrien patted his shoulder. “Nino, you’re easily the coolest person I’ve met,” he said, meaning it with every ounce of his being. “Seriously, just be yourself! Why don’t you just ask to hang out with her?”</p><p>Nino’s eyes widened. “Like–like a date?” He went pale.</p><p>“Well. Maybe not exactly a date,” Adrien corrected.</p><p>His words fell on deaf ears however, as Nino continued to freak out. “A d-date! Oh–oh uh-ah, I can’t–nope–”</p><p>“Nino,” Adrien interrupted. “You got this, okay? Just be yourself.”</p><p>Nino swallowed, and nodded. He straightened his posture to appear more confident, a determined look in his eye. “You’re right, dude. I can do this! I just have to ask her to hang out one-on-one, easy!”  </p><p>“Hey guys! What are you two doing just standing here?” Alya suddenly said. </p><p>Nino yelped, and Adrien wrapped an arm around his shoulder so the other boy couldn’t run away. They turned around to find Alya and Marinette standing in front of them, giving them a questioning look. Adrien’s eyes lingered on Marinette for a second, unable to shake off the weird feeling within him, but he brushed it aside. He needed to focus on helping out his nervous wreck of a friend. </p><p>“Hey! Great timing. Nino here had a question to ask. Right, Nino?” </p><p>Nino made a nervous sound in agreement. Adrien subtly jabbed him in the side. </p><p>“Oh, um!” Nino started. “You–you are free on Saturday?” he squeaked out. The poor guy was so nervous that he was only looking at Alya and wouldn’t dare shift his line of sight to the girl beside her. </p><p>“Am I free on Saturday?” Alya repeated.</p><p>Nino was practically sweating bullets. “Um, is, I mean are, both of you? Free?” He pointed at Marinette with his hand, still never taking his eyes off of Alya.  </p><p>“I think I should be free on Saturday too,” Marinette said. “What’s up Nino?”</p><p><em> This is it Nino! </em>Adrien silently encouraged.</p><p>“A movie!” Nino shouted. “Wanna, um, wanna go to the m-movies? For the upcoming project? With me and Adrien?” he quickly added.</p><p>“<em> Nino </em>,” Adrien hissed through gritted teeth. What kind of disastrous attempt at a date (but not a date) was this? </p><p>“Project?” Marinette gave him a blank look. “Oh, you mean the one due in a month?”</p><p>“Wow, never took you as the type to get school work done so early, Nino,” Alya commented. “Good on you!”</p>
<hr/><p>Nino released a huge breath of relief after the girls had parted ways from them. “How was that, dude?”</p><p>“You want my honest opinion?”</p><p>“Aw, forget it. Give me some credit though, I was able to ask Marinette out on a date!”</p><p>“Yeah, with two other people! And for a project?” Adrien said, exasperated. “Do you want me to tell Alya an excuse so it’s just you two?”</p><p>Nino gave him a horrified look. “Whoa man, and be alone with Marinette? You seriously can’t expect me to do that!”</p><p>“What–”</p><p> Nino grabbed his hands in desperation.  “Please, Adrien you have to come!”</p><p>Adrien’s disgruntled expression faltered. There was a part of him that, admittedly, was strangely relieved that he would be there instead of letting Nino and Marinette be alone. Plus, he couldn’t say no when his friend was practically begging him. “Okay, Nino,” he said, giving in, “I’ll come along too.”</p><p>Nino cheered and let out a grateful outburst, and Adrien couldn’t help but smile, despite a creeping feeling that he was getting involved in a mess. </p>
<hr/><p>That night, Cat Noir finally found the culprit.</p><p>He had heard a loud commotion going on and headed over to the noise. From on top of a building, he spotted a figure in black roundhouse kick a man in the face, causing the poor guy to crash on top of another man that had already been knocked down. The figure then took off, and Cat Noir promptly landed on the ground at the moment. For a second, he contemplated helping the two men that were on the ground, but decided that capturing the assailant was a bigger priority.</p><p>The guy was fast, but Cat Noir easily caught up with his staff. He thrust himself into the air, lurching forward, before somersaulting down in front of the assailant. The man skidded to an abrupt halt.</p><p>Cat Noir was surprised to see that the assailant seemed very much a normal civilian–no strange body parts, animalistic features, or weird markings–just a regular person wearing a hoodie and a mask. Moonlight shone off the person’s red mask, and it was peculiar in design. Cat Noir knew he recognized its similarities in design somewhere, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen it before. It covered the assailant's entire face, but from the looks of it, the man was about his height and not very intimidating at all. </p><p>"Two things. First, who are you, and second, why are you going around at night beating people up?" Cat Noir asked. </p><p>The man said nothing.</p><p>He was also holding a black bag,  which Cat Noir pointed at. It was likely filled with the stolen goods. "Gonna also need you to give that back."</p><p>No reply.</p><p>"Not one for words, huh? Why? Cat got your tongue?" He smirked, as he always did when he let a pun slip out.</p><p>Nothing. No laughter, or even an exasperated reaction. Just silence.</p><p>Cat Noir shrugged. "Fine, we can do this the hard way then." He steadied himself, readying his staff in battle pose. Seeing how easily he was able to catch up with the guy, he knew that this would be an easy fight. He had to hold back on his strength. </p><p>Before he could react, the man rushed over to him and grabbed his arm, hurling him over his shoulder in a blur. Cat Noir landed on his back on the pavement with a thud. He laid still for a moment, his brain processing what had just happened, before bouncing  back onto his feet. He glanced around and saw that the man had disappeared from the alley. "Darn it," he hissed, cursing himself for underestimating the situation. He started running to where the man could have escaped to, but there was no sign of where he'd gone off to.</p><p>Cat Noir decided to look around from high above. The man was still only human–there was no way he could have gone too far. He used his staff to propel himself skyward, jumping onto the ledge of a tall building to scan his surroundings. His eyes widened when he spotted a certain pigtailed girl coming out of some sort of grocery store.</p><p>"Marinette?!" he exclaimed.</p><p>Why was she grocery shopping this late? It wasn’t safe out, especially with the assailant still running around the area.</p><p>All of a sudden, his priorities shifted.</p><p>He leaped into the air and landed in front of her. Marinette gasped and stumbled backwards, a look of shock on her face. "Mari– Miss!" he corrected himself. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you."</p><p>"Cat–Cat Noir?" she said shakily.</p><p>"Listen, I don't have time to explain, but you need to leave this place. Now!" He quickly grabbed her by the waist and hoisted them into the air with his staff. Marinette yelped as he hopped from rooftop to rooftop with ease.</p><p>His mind immediately went back earlier to his conversation with Nino, and a sudden strange sense of discomfort began to rear its head within him. He pushed it aside however, there were more important things at stake, such as bringing Marientte to safety. His heightened sense of smell caught the whiff of Marinette’s scent as they soared through the air. Instead of a nice, flowery smell that he expected, Marinette's scent was strangely… off-putting.</p><p>Before he could dwell on it further, Marinette gave him a thunk on the head with her elbow.</p><p>"Ow, what was that for?" he exclaimed.</p><p>"Could you let me down!" she yelled, raising her voice to fight the rush of wind.  </p><p>Cat Noir landed on the closest street and gently let her down. “Sorry about that... miss,” he apologized. </p><p>“Uh.” Marinette shifted uncomfortably, her eyes focused on something below them. Cat Noir suddenly realized that he had been unconsciously holding onto her hand the whole time, and he quickly let go with a sheepish grin.</p><p>He was thankful for the magical mask to hide the rush of heat to his face.</p><p> He cleared his throat. “I, uh, I shouldn't have just grabbed you like that, but something dangerous was going on in that area! It wouldn't be safe for you to be out there alone.”</p><p>“I… I understand.” Marinette looked around their surroundings, avoiding eye contact with him. “I should be heading home, but thanks for bringing me all the way over here, Cat Noir.” </p><p>She began to walk away, but Cat Noir caught up with her. “Wait, at least let me escort you home, miss.”</p><p>“No, it’s okay! I live close to here.”</p><p>They were still a good fifteen to twenty minute walk from where her home was. Using his superhuman speed would get them there in mere minutes. Cat Noir moved in front of her and gave a half bow, offering his hand out for her to take. “It’d be against my entire philosophy as a superhero to allow a young lady like you to be alone at night, especially with a crook still out here somewhere.” </p><p>“It’s fine. I’ll be okay on my own. Really!” </p><p>“I insist–please let me walk you home.”</p><p>"I said I’m <em> fine </em>," Marinette said, with a coldness that made Cat Noir freeze in his tracks from surprise. He didn’t know she was capable of such a harsh tone. She blinked, as if also taken aback by her voice, before averting her gaze elsewhere. “I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too– but, I can take care of myself.” </p><p>“O-Oh,” Cat Noir managed. “Uh, don’t worry about it. Get home safe then, Mari– miss.”</p><p>She nodded in response, and continued her way. Cat Noir watched her for a few moments. "What was that?" he murmured to himself. </p><p>It was as if she had become a different person for a split second.</p><p>"Hey, did Cat Noir just get rejected by that girl?"</p><p>"I think so. Poor guy."</p><p>Confused, Cat Noir turned to where the voice had come from. A couple had stopped to watch and were now, not so subtly, gossiping to each other.</p><p>He felt a irk of irritation. "Not true!" he yelled at them. The couple jumped in surprise and hurried away. Cat Noir let out an indignant huff, as he was never a big fan of gossip (especially after the Copycat incident). He debated whether or not to secretly follow Marinette and make sure she did get home safe, but decided it was best not to overstep his boundaries after remembering the look in her eyes from a few minutes ago. Besides, there was still that criminal roaming around, and he would feel a lot better once he did apprehend the assailant. </p><p>With a twist of his staff, Cat Noir  jumped back into the air.</p>
<hr/><p>Marinette closed the door behind her quietly, not wanting to wake her mother up. She placed the plastic bag she was holding on the ground. Steadying her back against the door, she put a tired hand on her temple, and she let out a sigh of relief that she had been holding in for too long. </p><p>That had been a close call.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>dun dun dun! </p><p>At this point, I assume most of you can guess where this is heading! I won't reveal anything in the notes yet, but we're getting close to  what inspired me with this AU. Also I mention copycat, but as to what other exact akumas Adrien has fought I don't have an answer lol (assume this is earlier of ML even though it strays pretty far from canon). But next chapter, expect more hijinks and more secrets to be revealed :)))</p><p>Along with that, please point out any mistakes you may find! I've always had issues finding problems in my writing (literally have to re-read any essay I submit for a class like 20 times) so it's helpful get feedback on that, along with your thoughts/comments on anything! Love reading what people think (whether it's negative or positive) so any words are very welcome. </p><p>Anyways, the state of the world is pretty crazy right now, and I'm doing my best to stay informed and educated about what's going on. I decided to just go ahead and post this so I can focus more on doing that, and hopefully offer folks a small break since it's easy to get overwhelmed by everything. I won't get political, but I do hope that everyone remains safe during these times :)</p>
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